Politics: "We're Gonna Need a Bigger Shovel."

I don't actually know of anyone who thinks that hybrid vehicles are a bad idea, with the occasional exception being members of the Tin Hat Club who think it's the splitting wedge to a totalitarian state where everyone is forced to eat granola and wear hemp clothing. (Then again, you already can't take the bus without an identity card...)

Then, of course, there's the U.S. government.

Individual members of that government are doing fine, of course: I mean the government itself, what with the insane War/Not War they're fighting against Ira- uh, sorry, I mean the Talib- Wait! It's Afghanistan, right? No? You don't expect me to believe it's bin Laden, do you? Anyhow, add to that the enormous tax breaks to the super wealthy individuals and corporations, the ever decreasing U.S. dollar, the mistrust of nations around the world, and of course the horrible natural disasters that struch the south coast, and I can understand why they went from an almost vanishing deficit in 2000 to increasing to $500 billion (give or take a few) now.

Look, the U.S. is broke, the poor dear, and she's just looking for new ways to raise a bit of cash, right? And let's face it, the enviroment is just, well, sitting there...